Evan's First Swimming Lesson

We finally put Evan in swimming lessons. I started a bit late, living in Florida. Most of my friends put their kids in when they are infants, or at the very latest, one year old. When Evan was a baby, I read some new research on the subject that proposed that early swimming lessons can cause a fear of the water. And I have actually seen it happen with many of my friend's babies. But you gotta weigh the pros and cons. Living near so much water, the risk of drowning is definitely there, no matter how "on top" of your baby you are. I am a bit over protective of my boys (me? what? no.). So I think I will use any excuse to not do something that is scary for me or for them! I sware, everything I dread in life, never turns out to be as bad as my vivid imagination will make me anticipate. And this experience is no exception. I found an amazing private instructor for Evan (yes, we will soon be living on welfare, she is so pricey). But every penny is so well worth it. She is so loving with him. It's all about creating a love for the water. It's a very gentle way of showing him that water isn't scary, all the while teaching him how to swim. He actually cries very little and so far, he looks forward to his lessons. The only thing he isn't too fond of is "monkey hands", as you can see in the picture. That's what she teaches him to do if he falls in the water, you grab on to the side of the pool and shimmy your way down until you hit some stairs. She makes the funniest monkey sounds when he is doing it to try and make it a game, but he just isn't having it!